


Light and Dark

by agirlnamedtruth



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Dreams and Nightmares, Gen, Prophetic Dreams
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-11
Updated: 2014-06-11
Packaged: 2018-02-04 05:53:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1767916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agirlnamedtruth/pseuds/agirlnamedtruth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Merlin has nightmares about Aithusa and another dragon, leading him to ask the impossible.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Light and Dark

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the [Camelot Land](http://camelot-land.livejournal.com) prompt "Tomb of Ashkanar".

Merlin still had nightmares about it, the great tower of Ashkanar falling. He had released the dragon from its egg months ago, given it its freedom but he still felt tied to it. What if Borden had reached it first? What if they had all died in that tower, man and dragon alike?

He dreamed of chains on the creature, darkness surrounding it. It was in a pit, docile, tamed while another dragon, its counterpart in black, snarled beside it, spitting sparks but unable breathe true fire.

Merlin startled awake, consciousness unable to dampen the disquiet he felt. It was impossible, he'd only called forth one dragon from that egg and that was the last egg. There was no other dragon. He put it down to a rough few months, fuelled by what he'd seen of dragons and the light and dark of humanity.

Under the cover of darkness, he snuck out of Camelot and into the woods. He wished he could read a book on Ashkanar or visit his tomb again but both were impossible. There simply wasn't a book left that explained how to raise a dragon and anybody that might write one was long dead. Like the last egg, he was the last of his breed.

First he tried calling to Aithusa but she never came. He tried calling to Kilgharrah when his heart beat more furiously with fear. He'd released the dragon not even a year passed; she couldn't have met her demise already. He'd know, surely he would know.

Kilgharrah came, just as Merlin began to shout again.

"I heard you the first time, young warlock," Kilgharrah said as he landed.

Merlin apologised with a look and a shrug, he didn't want the Great Dragon to know how worried he truly was.

"How can I be of service?" Kilgharrah prompted when Merlin didn't ask anything from him.

"The young dragon, the one from Ashkanar’s tomb..." Merlin started but Kilgharrah shook out his wings in irritation.

"Aithusa. I know you have not forgotten, it was you that gave her the name, you should use it," Kilgharrah said, settling back down.

"Aithusa," Merlin said with a frown, the name increasing the worry inside him. "She doesn't answer my call like you do."

"That is because you did not command her to answer your calls," Kilgharrah explained. "You did not declare yourself her master, you only gave her life."

"So she will never come back?" Merlin felt his heart sink.

"She might, she might not. You gave her the freedom to choose, you have to respect that freedom," Kilgharrah reminded him.

Merlin knew he was right but he couldn't shake the disturbed feeling he had. "I had a dream about her."

"A dream?" Kilgharrah inclined his head, showing he was listening.

"I think so. She was in a pit, shackled and cowed," Merlin paused, collecting his thoughts up. "But she wasn't alone. There was another dragon, as dark as she was light. That dragon wasn't cowed, it raged. That isn't possible, is it? Another dragon?"

"No, you and I would feel it. It is indeed impossible."

"Another egg then? Hidden away like Ashkanar had done?" Merlin asked hopefully, not sure he wanted the other dragon to be real as such, he just wanted an answer to his dream.

"No, Ashkanar tomb was truly unique in that manner," Kilgharrah disputed, ending Merlin's hope. "Perhaps it wasn't really a dragon; perhaps it was just a... metaphor."

"For what?" Merlin asked, growing uneasy.

"The true darkness in your world, the witch."

Merlin looked about him before he said her name, "Morgana?"

"She too is a beast of magic," Kilgharrah reasoned. Merlin suppressed a shudder; Morgana was a person, not a beast. "Was this beast shackled as well?"

Merlin considered lying but his face had already betrayed him. "Yes."

"Then perhaps, warlock, it is a good thing you saw," Kilgharrah decided before taking off, the matter closed for him.

Merlin stared off into the sky, feeling more confused and troubled than he had before he'd called him. Surely Kilgharrah couldn't agree with such methods, having been chained so himself.

Merlin walked back to the castle, for the first time wondering where Morgana had ended up after the battle. He sincerely hoped she hadn't ended up in that pit, nobody deserved that fate, dragon or human.

**Author's Note:**

> As of 01/01/18, I'm opting to disable comments. [More information here](http://archiveofourown.org/works/13077201).


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